Originally posted by Bono
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Yes, new readers and judges for every script in every round at Nicholl.
Discussion in a room only occurs after Nicholl Committee members have read the finalist scripts.
Yes, new eyes in each and every round.
At the Nicholl it's not possible to decide what is what all together.
Think the process remains similar to what it was while I was at Nicholl:
In the first round every script was read twice. About 1000, more or less, were read a third time. This was done by paid readers. Best two of three scores were tallied to determine which scripts advanced.
About 5% of entries advanced to the quarterfinal round. Each script was read three times by a subset of the first round readers. Best five of six scores were tallied to determine which scripts advanced,
About 150 scripts advanced to the semifinal round. Each script was read four times by volunteer Academy members. Best eight of ten scores, but including at least three Academy member semifinal scores, determined the scripts that advanced to the final round.
For most years during my time, about ten scripts advanced to the finals. During my last several years, the Nicholl Committee decided to allow from 10 to 15 scripts to reach the finals (though the number tended to be closer to 10 than to 15).
Due to the scoring tallies after each round, the first, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds occupied different calendar periods. No readers or judges were assigned a script they had a read previously. As much as possible, we attempted to assign scripts so that no readers or judges would read a writer they had read previously. (By "previously," I mean in any year, not just the current competition.)
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